My favourite roasted chicken recipe

This is probably one of my all time favourite meals now. I used this recipe and added fennel to it and oh my goodness, it was incredible. It's good all on its own but the first time I made it I also mashed potatoes with dill and steamed carrots on the side. As fantastic as it tastes the first day, it is even better the next day when the onion and fennel soften and caramelize further. It is so aromatic, it makes the whole house smell good. :)

Quasi Stew? I don't know...

I threw some stuff together, not entirely sure it was going to taste any good but it turned out pretty well. My partner raved about it so I'll make sure I make it again sometime soon!

4 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 pork sausages (farmer's market buy)

The potatoes were boiled and the carrots were steamed. The onions were sauteed around the sausages. I threw it all into a casserole dish, seasoned it with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano and put it in the oven for 15 min at 350F.

Tuna Casserole

When I was a little girl my parents worked different shifts - my father worked the afternoon shift and my mother worked the day shift. For as long as I can remember my father has been the cook of the house - my mother rarely cooked if my father was around. During the week though, when it was time for dinner and we were on our own, my mother would make one of three meals. Dinner was either Kraft Dinner, Rice-a-roni and some kind of meat, or tuna casserole. As a child I HATED tuna casserole. I have memories of my mother nearly having to force feed it to me. Then, years later when I was a teenager, I started really enjoying tuna and wouldn't you know it, my mother would rarely ever make it. Oh well... Anyway, I decided to forgo the Tuna Helper mix and made it from scratch the other night. Oh how I've missed homemade tuna casserole. I made enough for about four servings but it was so good we ate it all.

Pretty simple to throw together:

Pasta of choice
2 cans of tuna
1 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
2-3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese of choice shredded over top
350F for 20 - 25 min.

Chips even the Brit likes

The other night, I had a craving for fries. Rather than go out, I decided to peel a bunch of potatoes and make my own. I have to say, homemade beats fast food any day.


This picture was a one-off on the couch before we dug in. Seasoned with sea salt, rosemary and corriander and baked in the oven with a light olive oil coating. Yummmmmm.

Pancakes

Another pancake breakfast...



Organic whole grain pancakes with pureed blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate and rhubarb. Sooooooo good.

V-Day Menu

Valentine's Day Menu courtesy of various Michael Smith recipes... Received fantastic reviews from my partner so it was well worth it. :)

Brunch - Smoked Salmon Egg Cups with Dill and Havarti and Spice Baked Fruit Salad








Dinner - Tandoori Chicken with Aloo Gobi and Balsami Rice

6 Weeks

It has been six weeks since I started this project slow-food... whole, organic food that is cooked at home, not at a restaurant or sealed in a package. I've learned that broadening my palate wasn't as difficult as I thought, nor finding the patience and time (or rather energy) to hone my cooking (and more importantly, prepping) skills.

In six weeks I've lost 18 lbs, just by changing what and the way I eat. I have lost one pant size and one shirt size. I can tell I'm actually losing fat and not muscle because the first part of me that started disappearing was my belly. Amazing. I have more energy than I can remember ever having. I can jog up the stairs to our apartment and not be winded like I used to be. I don't get as many headaches as I used to either. I can tell when I'm full and I can tell when I'm actually hungry. This project is undoing almost 31 years of poor eating habits learned by myself and from family and learning new, healthier habits and skills...although I wish I had gotten to this point a long time ago, I'm glad I've reached it, period.

Indian Tuesday

Tonight's dinner was comprised of two great Indian vegetable dishes and one fantastic Indian beverage. For the two veggie dishes, I had to follow the recipes closely because I've never attempted to cook Indian food before. Jules free-styled the beverage part of it.

Aloo Gobi

Vegetable Masala

Mango Lassi

New Gadgets

So, another good use for the ol' PVR is recording cooking shows. As a person who isn't really into following recipes, it's really nice to just watch someone throw something together and then attempt to do a few of the interesting parts. For example, I was watching Jamie Oliver the other day and most of what he was making I was not interested in at all, but one of his sides were these baked chips (that's fries on this side of the pond, I suppose) that apparently tasted like they were fried. Included with them was this seasoning he made that he kept raving about. I was interested in trying these chips because I'm not the biggest potato person but Jules loves them so I keep them in rotation a couple times per week. I normally prepare them baked, either whole or cubed with seasoning, so I figured making chips would be a nice treat for both of us. Before I attempted this though, I had to overcome a minor issue - I had no way of grinding up dried rosemary or coriander seed. Jamie Oliver uses a mortar and pestle to grind his spices and herbs up. The other method I could try is an electric grinder. After debating yesterday whether I really needed to grind spices and/or herbs at all (I mean, pretty much all of them can come ground in a package these days), I decided to indulge. Then I read reviews online for decent and low price grinders and purchased one today. I went with an electric grinder over a mortar and pestle because electric grinders actually cost less and can also do coffee, not to mention the result is uniform.

So, was it worth it? Oh hell yes. I ground up rosemary first and the smell was amazing. Next I added the coriander and I was sold. I used that mixture to season the chips as well as on the salmon I foil wrapped and baked to have with the chips and it was fantastic. It wasn't even exactly as Jamie had prepared it (he also ground up lemon zest and sea salt, where I ground the sea salt separate and sprinkled lemon juice instead of the zest) but it was definitely a hit. I think the $25 for the grinder was definitely worth it!

The other addition to my kitchen that was purchased today (Jules' V-day gift to moi) is a food processor. However, unlike the spice grinder, the food processor has not been taken out of the box yet. I have tomorrow off so I'm going to play around with it then. I have to go grocery shopping anyway so I'm sure it'll get some chopping use at some point tomorrow. I (or rather Jules) does a lot of veggie chopping every week because keeping chopped veggies at hand is a huge time saver and a guarantee that plenty of them get thrown into whatever I'm making. Also, to save time, I tend to buy pre-shredded cheese which is damned expensive. I absolutely hate using a shredder though - I get grossed out by holding the block of cheese to grate it - even though my hands are washed and dairy has plenty of bacteria in it anyway, I feel like I'm getting it dirty. There's also the danger of accidentally getting nicked or cut which is more exaggerated in my mind than anything. So... I actually clued in to the brilliance of a food processor when I watched someone shred an entire block of cheese in about two seconds on one of the cooking shows. I kind of sat there and went, 'Duh. Why didn't I think of that?' My parents have had one for years, although theirs is about 15 years old and only has about a two cup capacity and one fixed chopping blade so it wasn't brought out all too often. Actually, I think the only thing they ever used it for was to dice onions. I had not realized that food processors had come a LONG way since then which is probably why it never occurred to me that I would now find one useful.

Veggie Chili

Dinner - Vegetarian Chili (Serves... um, lots)

2 green peppers diced
1 red pepper diced
3/4 cup onion diced
1 zucchini diced
2 large cans of crushed or diced tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can lima beans
1 can brown beans
1 can corn
1/2 cup salsa
2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp basil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp oregano

On medium heat, start with the olive oil and onions along with the cumin, basil, black pepper and oregano. When the onions are tender, add the red and green peppers, the garlic, the corn and the zucchini. Mix and let cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and chili powder and then finally the beans. Bring to a boil and then cover and let simmer for 15 - 20 min.

Salmon Wednesday

Dinner - Baked Salmon with Steamed Cabbage & Double Baked Potato (Serves 2)

2 salmon fillets
2 potatoes
1/2 head of cabbage
1-2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp butter
1-2 tsp lemon juice
seasoning (chives, parsley, ground black pepper)
grated cheese (optional)

Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice on the salmon fillets, season with pepper, parsley, chives and wrap each fillet up in aluminum foil. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes.

Cut the 1/2 head of cabbage in half. Steam in a pot for 20 minutes (or until tender). Slice up the cabbage before serving for ease.

I cheat and bake the potatoes in the microwave in a steam bag for 4 minutes. Then I place them in a bowl of cold water so I can handle them without burning my hands. I slice each potato almost in half (more like slice 1/3 off lengthwise) and scoop out the inside to mash up. I add some chives and 1 tsp butter to the mash and then refill the potato skin. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and place in oven (turned off but still really hot) for a few minutes.

To eat meat or not to eat meat?

It's hard to get out of the habit of eating meat almost every day. I want to eat a lot less of it but to do that I need to learn how to prepare alternatives. I already have seeds and nuts covered, it's the beans and tofu I need to work on. Thank goodness for recipes online!!

Pasta Tuesday

Breakfast - Fruit & Yogurt smoothie (serves 2)

1 cup frozen fruit (in the fridge before bedtime so it thaws overnight)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Add orange juice and yogurt to the fruit in a container or glass suitable for using a hand held blender (or use a regular blender) and, well, blend.

I paired this with a piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter.


Lunch - Amy's Vegetable Pot Pie
Mmmmmm... Delicious.


Dinner - Spaghetti (Serves 4)

1 jar of tomato & basil pasta sauce
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup red pepper
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped spinach
4 mild italian pork sausages, grilled and then sliced (optional)
Whole wheat spaghetti
Grated cheese (optional)

Food, Inc.

So, it turns out that eating dinner while watching Food, Inc. was not the greatest idea. It was really hard to finish eating the meat especially... Yuck.

Day Off

Today was a pretty light day for me cooking. I had no-fuss Oat Bran for breakfast and yogurt and almonds for lunch. Jules, the roast-maker in our household, made a gorgeous dinner with the beef cross rib roast I bought at the farmer's market yesterday. With the roast, she baked potatoes and steamed yellow and green beans as well as asparagus. Mmmm....

Weekend

Breakfast - Vegetable egg scramble (serves 1)
2 brown eggs
1 cup chopped raw spinach
1/4 cup chopped raw mushrooms
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
Olive oil for the pan
A dash or two of ground black pepper and paprika

Sometimes I add some grated cheese on top but this morning I opted not to.

For lunch, I actually made another weekend breakfast choice...

Lunch - Whole grain pancake with stewed fruit (serves 3)
Pancake
1 cup whole grain pancake mix
1 cup skim milk
1 brown egg
1/8 tsp olive oil for the mix and a bit for the pan

Stewed fruit
4 small gala apples
1/2 cup rhubarb
1/2 cup mango (optional)
1-2 tsp unrefined granulated sugar or Agave nectar
3/4 - 1 cup water

Peel and dice apples (the smaller, the less time it will take), place in small pot with the water and sugar of choice. Cook on medium-low heat - I have never timed this process but I would estimate around 30-45 minutes. Once the fruit is nice and soft, spread a generous portion on top of the pancake.

Dinner - Spinach salad with mini pita tuna melts (serves 2)
Spinach Salad (per serving)
1 cup raw spinach
1/8 cup chopped mushroom
1/8 cup diced green pepper
1/8 cup diced red pepper
1/8 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup sliced zucchini
1-2 tsp poppy seed dressing
Grated cheese (optional)

Mini Pita Tuna Melts
6 mini whole wheat pitas
1 can low sodium tuna
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/8 cup diced green pepper
1 tbsp mayonnaise
Grated cheese

Mix up tuna, mayo, onion and pepper. Spoon portion onto each pita evenly. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Bake at 350 F until cheese is melted (5-10 minutes).

Farmer's Market

Finally, I made it to the farmer's market. It helped that I found out it is actually open from 8 am - 3 pm on Saturdays and not just until noon like I thought. Saturday mornings are for sleeping in and then relaxing with a cup of coffee and breakfast and a good book, not going out into the bitter cold with the snow falling and ice on the roads. I ended up getting there at 1 pm and holy cow, I don't think I expected such a large building to be packed with so many people. I managed to pick up a few things I wanted - a beef cross rib roast for $14 (the last time we bought the same cut at the grocery store it was a couple of dollars more and it was filled with whatever drugs they give commercial beef), some organic whole wheat pitas, a couple dozen organic eggs ($4 per dozen, over a dollar less than the grocery store), some organic pork sausage and for Jules I picked up her favourite smoked salmon dip and some hummus. I passed by all of the produce - they only really had potatoes, cabbage, carrots and apples which is pretty much what I expected seeing as how it's the end of January. It will be nice once the spring and summer months are here and everything is available.

I have decided to create a new blog devoted to my new passion for cooking. One month into my new diet-changing project and I'm not sure that I'll ever go back. Time and results will tell, I suppose...